System and method for provisioning temporary telephone numbers

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and computer program products for provisioning a temporary disposable number are described. A user can be provided with a pool of available temporary disposable numbers that have a limited shelf life. The user can select one of the available temporary disposable numbers while submitting a permanent phone number associated with a communications device (e.g., mobile phone, home phone, business phone, etc.). Prior to activating the selected temporary disposable number, the temporary disposable number is linked to the permanent phone number. After activation, when an incoming call to the temporary disposable number is received, the permanent phone number is identified to be associated with the temporary disposable number being called. The incoming call is then forwarded to the communications device on which the permanent phone number is established.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter of this application is generally related tocommunications systems.

BACKGROUND

For security reasons, a caller may wish other parties to call but doesnot wish to divulge a permanent phone number to the calling party. Oneexample is when selling an item, such as a car or a home. A seller maywant to have interested parties contact the seller by calling them.However, for security and privacy reasons, the seller may not want toprovide his or her home phone number. Other circumstances where a usermay not want to divulge his or her permanent phone number includeprivate sales of goods, invitations to group activities, requests tosearch for a lost article, or one-time business transactions withunknown parties.

SUMMARY

Systems, methods, and computer program products for provisioning atemporary disposable number are described. A user can be provided with apool of available temporary disposable numbers that have a limited shelflife. The user can select one of the available temporary disposablenumbers while submitting a permanent phone number associated with acommunications device (e.g., mobile phone, home phone, business phone,etc.). Prior to activating the selected temporary disposable number, thetemporary disposable number is linked to the permanent phone number.After activation, when an incoming call to the temporary disposablenumber is received, the permanent phone number is identified to beassociated with the temporary disposable number being called. Theincoming call is then forwarded to the communications device on whichthe permanent phone number is established.

In some implementations, a method is provided that includes receiving auser request for a temporary disposable identifier, the user requestincluding a permanent identifier; identifying a listing of temporarydisposable identifiers available for user selection; displaying thelisting in response to the user request; receiving a user selectionselecting a temporary disposable identifier from the listing; andactivating the selected temporary disposable identifier based on thepermanent identifier, the activated temporary disposable identifierbeing used to receive incoming calls at the temporary disposableidentifier.

In some implementations, a method is provided that includes receiving auser request associated to extend a shelf life of a temporary disposableidentifier, the temporary disposable identifier being used to receiveincoming calls at the temporary disposable identifier; identifying auser account associated with the user request; determining whether theuser account meets one or more criteria; and extending the shelf life ofthe temporary disposable identifier if the user account meets the one ormore criteria.

In some implementations, a method is provided that includes providinguser information including a permanent identifier established on acommunications device; receiving a listing of temporary disposableidentifiers in response to the user information including the permanentidentifier, each temporary disposable identifier configured to allowincoming calls made to the temporary disposable identifier to be takenby the communications device; selecting a temporary disposableidentifier from the listing; and receiving one or more incoming calls atthe selected temporary disposable identifier.

In some implementations, a method is provided that includes receiving auser request for a temporary disposable identifier; retrieving a useraccount associated with the user request including determining whetherthere is sufficient credit in the user account to fulfill the userrequest; displaying a listing of temporary disposable identifier inresponse to the user request; receiving a user selection selecting atemporary disposable identifier from the listing; and activating theselected temporary disposable identifier if there is sufficient creditin the user account, the activated temporary disposable identifier beingused to receive incoming calls at the temporary disposable identifier.

In some implementations, a system is provided that includes an accountmanager configured to receive a permanent identifier associated with acommunications device and a selection of one of a plurality of temporarydisposable identifiers; a database configured to store the plurality oftemporary disposable identifiers and an association between thepermanent identifier and the selected temporary disposable identifier;and an activation manager configured to activate the selected temporarydisposable identifier such that incoming calls made to the selectedtemporary disposable identifier are forwarded to the communicationsdevice on which the permanent identifier is established.

Aspects of the invention can realize none, one or more of theadvantages. The temporary disposable number feature described hereinprovides a means to shield one's identity for a limited duration, inmultiple instances. The temporary disposable number feature can enablecommercial businesses and individual business owners to extend andcustomize the features and benefits of the temporary disposable numbersto suit their business needs.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example virtual PBX service provider system thatcan be used to provision a temporary disposable number service via amobile device or a browser.

FIG. 2A shows an example application executed on a mobile device.

FIG. 2B shows an example user interface for choosing whether to log intoan existing user account or to activate a new user account.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a mobiledevice.

FIG. 4A shows an example of a temporary disposable number selectioninterface accessible via a browser.

FIG. 4B shows an example temporary disposable number interface suitablefor display on a mobile device.

FIG. 4C shows an example switching interface suitable for assisting auser in selecting a new temporary disposable numbers.

FIG. 4D shows an example shuffle interface displaying shuffle-relatedinformation.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of an example process for activating atemporary disposable number.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of an example process for changing an existingtemporary disposable number.

FIG. 7 shows an example process for purchasing credits.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a processing device that may be used toexecute methods and processes disclosed herein.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

Also, all materials and screenshots as described herein are protected byUnited States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed,transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior writtenpermission of the assignee of record.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems, methods, and computer program products for provisioning atemporary disposable number are described. As will be described ingreater detail below, a telecommunications service provider (TSP) systemcan provide users and subscribers with an option to subscribe to atemporary disposable number service. The TSP system can provide theusers and subscribers with a pool of available temporary disposablenumbers that have a predetermined expiration period or limited shelflife. A user can select one of the available temporary disposablenumbers. At the time of selecting the available temporary disposablenumber, the user can be requested to submit a permanent phone numberassociated with a communications device (e.g., mobile phone, home phone,business phone, etc.). Prior to activating the selected temporarydisposable number, the TSP system can link the temporary disposablenumber to the permanent phone number, and store this relationship in adatabase. After activation, when an incoming call to the temporarydisposable number is received, the TSP system can determine thepermanent phone number (e.g., by querying the database) as associatingwith the temporary disposable number being called. Once the TSP systemhas identified the relationship, the TSP system can forward the incomingcall to the communications device on which the permanent phone number isestablished. When the user deactivates the temporary disposable number,the deactivated temporary disposable number can be placed in aquarantine database for a predetermined period during which thedeactivated temporary disposable number is not available for userselection. This quarantine period allows the user to renew thedeactivated temporary disposable number should a personal or businessarise. After the quarantine period, the deactivated temporary disposablenumber can be placed back into the original pool of available temporarydisposable numbers that can be selected by other users.

The temporary disposable number permits users and subscribers to bereachable to others while at the same time maintaining theconfidentiality and security of their permanent phone number (e.g.,office number, mobile phone number, or landline home number). Thus,users and subscribers who want to safe guard their personal or permanentphone numbers from third parties, such as advertising companies,businesses or outside vendors, can do so to protect their personalprivacy and reduce security risks associated with divulging theirpermanent phone numbers without losing their accessibility to andchannel of communication with others.

Because the temporary disposable number is valid a limited time (e.g.,the temporary disposable number remains active for seven days) or for alimited usage (e.g., the temporary disposable number is valid for twentycalls), temporary disposable number provisioning can be an idealapplication for any marketplace which facilitates the buying and sellingof merchandises and services (e.g. eBay®, Craigslist®, ServiceMagic®,etc.). These marketplaces can leverage the temporary disposable numberprovisioning to offer buyers and sellers a contact number while salestransactions are occurring. For example, a user visiting a marketplaceand creating a listing will be presented with an option to include atemporary disposable number to anonymize his or her personal phonenumber. If the user chooses to do so, the user can select a temporarydisposable number from an inventory and immediately insert that numberinto the listing.

Alternatively, the entity associated with the marketplace (or otherthird party partner) can automate the temporary disposable numberselection by submitting a request to the TSP system for a temporarydisposable number on behalf of the user (e.g., upon receiving such arequest from the user when compiling the listing), and inserting thetemporary disposable number into the listing directly at the time ofpublishing the listing within the marketplace. The selected temporarydisposable number would remain active to take inbound calls for as longas the listing remains active. When the listing is deleted, the numberwould be deactivated. For example, at the time of requesting a temporarydisposable number, the marketplace can submit an expiration date of thelisting to the TSP system, and when the listing expires and themarketplace removes the listing, the TSP system can also deactivate thetemporary disposable number at the same time. As another example, at thetime of removing the listing, the marketplace submits a request to theTSP system to deactivate the temporary disposable number. As will bediscussed below, deactivated (or deleted) temporary disposable numberscan be placed in a quarantine database for a predetermined period duringwhich the deactivated number can neither be listed nor displayed toother users for selection. The predetermined period, in one example, isproportional to how long a user account has been activated. For example,where the user account to which the deactivated temporary disposablenumber was linked has been active for a year, the predetermined periodcan be one month. As another example, where the user account has beenactive for one month, the predetermined period can be three days. Thelonger a user account has been active, the longer the predeterminedperiod to allow a deactivated temporary number to be in quarantine.

Similar provisioning also can be used in social networks (e.g.Facebook®, LinkedIn®, etc.) and online dating sites (e.g. Match®,eHarmony®, etc.). As most social networking and online dating web sitesfocus on connecting individuals, the temporary disposable numberprovisioning can provide a platform to deliver a multi-way communicationbetween subscribers and users within their respective user base.

For example, an online dating member can create a user profile andimmediately add a temporary disposable number to the user profile forothers to communicate with the member. The temporary disposable numbercan remain active for as long as the member retains the user profile.The member also has the ability to stop taking calls entirely, orforward callers directly to voicemail. For example, the member can setup a call-forwarding rule at the time of requesting a temporarydisposable number such that calls made to the temporary disposablenumber are forwarded to the member's voicemail, or to another number(e.g., home, office, etc.) (e.g., a call made to a selected temporarydisposable number is forwarded to the member's home number). Theforwarding number(s) also can be extracted from an address bookapplication installed on member's mobile device. As another example, atthe time of selecting a temporary disposable number, the member can setup a mailbox to which calls ignored or missed by the member areforwarded (e.g., instead of forwarding to a home or office number).

Additionally, social networking sites and online dating sites now havethe ability to extend the capability of a user profile to allow users tohave multiple temporary disposable numbers simultaneously for enhancingsecurity and reducing privacy concern. The temporary disposable numberfeature also allows a user to display a different temporary disposablenumber for different viewers viewing the user profile so that no callercan abuse a single temporary disposable number. In some implementations,calls to different temporary disposable numbers also can be logged andvisible to the user when the user logs into the user account, and anyvoicemail will also be available to be played directly from the useraccount without needing to log into the service provider's system. Forexample, all calls to the temporary disposable number can be logged andstored in the database 140 as a log. The log can contain records of allcalling parties, and such records can be cross referenced with theaccount manager 164 so that these records can be presented as call logsto the users identifying all calls made to the temporary disposablenumber when the user accesses the user account 142.

Even further, the temporary disposable number feature allows one singlemobile device (or landline phones) to carry multiple lines of temporarydisposable numbers to eliminate the need for multiple physical phones ormultiple SIM cards (e.g., as with pre-paid phone cards). The user alsocan assign a different label to each different temporary disposablenumber for managing various accounts. At the user's leisure, any numbercan be shuffled (e.g., get new numbers), deleted, and parked (e.g.,temporarily disabling a temporary disposable number), thus providing theuser with the ultimate flexibility in call management.

Although the present disclosure is discussed below in the context ofwireless access networks, the present disclosure is not so limited andthat the temporary disposable provisioning also can be applied to packetswitched or circuit switched networks in general such as, withoutlimitation, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) networks, Service overInternet Protocol (SoIP) networks, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)networks, Frame Relay networks, cellular networks, packet networks, andthe like.

System Overview

FIG. 1 illustrates an example virtual PBX service provider system 100that can be used to provision various types of telecommunicationsservices including the temporary disposable number service and othertypes of virtual PBX services.

As described herein, “provisioning” refers to providing capabilities fortelecommunications services (e.g., virtual PBX services) to a user orcustomer account, including transmission of voice, data, or both to atelephone number, facsimile number, email address, voicemail address,the like, or any combination thereof. This involves, for example,providing for the hardware, software, storage, processing power,administrative requirements and the like necessary for supporting theservices for this account which can be a placeholder account notcurrently activated or associated with a particular user.

Referring to FIG. 1, the provider system 100 includes a TSP system 120,and the TSP system 120 can include a service manager 130 and a database140. The service manager 130 can be configured to receive datarepresenting a request to activate the temporary disposable numberservice. The temporary disposable number service provides users with oneor more temporary disposable numbers that are configured to receiveincoming calls only (e.g., users cannot use the temporary disposablenumbers for dialing out or calling other parties).

As shown in FIG. 1, the data can include user identificationinformation, such as user ID 118 a or user ID 118 b, either of which canbe sufficient to activate the temporary disposable number service. TheTSP system 120 can be configured to receive user IDs 118 a and 118 b viaa communications network 119 from an interface 110 on a mobile device102, or from a web browser 160.

The mobile device 102 and the web browser 160 can communicate with theTSP system 120, and submit the information entered by the user via theinterface 110 or the web browser 160. The user ID 118 a/118 b caninclude existing login information for an existing user, or contactinformation, name, telephone number, email address, or a main telephonenumber entered by a new user. The database 140 can be configured tostore the input data as configuration data 144 to be used forconfiguring the temporary disposable number service as well as othervirtual PBX services that the TSP system 120 provides to all users andsubscribers.

Where the user uses the mobile device 102 to activate the temporarydisposable number service, the activation manager 134 can generate anotification to the mobile device 102 to confirm successful activationof the temporary disposable number service. Alternatively, theactivation manager 134 can dial the temporary disposable number selectedby the user to confirm its activation. Where the web browser 160 is usedto activate the temporary disposable number service, a confirmationmessage 150 also can be sent to the user, for example, via email. Oncethe user has selected a temporary disposable number, the account manager164 can associate the selected temporary disposable number with anidentifier 155 as well as the user's user ID 118 c.

The user IDs 118 a and 118 b also can represent a telephone number forthe mobile device 102 or an email address of the user initiating arequest for a temporary disposable number. Other identifiers also can beused as the user IDs 118 a and 118 b such as, without limitation, afacsimile number for a fax machine, a voice mail address, a page number,or another identifier that is unique to the user.

As discussed above, the interface 110 receives a user input that is thencommunicated to the account manager 134. The interface 110 can begenerated by an application on the mobile device 102, or displayed tothe user upon accessing the provider's website using the browser 160.The interface 120 can include an identifier 111 (e.g., a user name,account number, or identifier assigned by the account manager 134) thatcan be used as the user ID 118 a, and an input field 112 configured toaccept other form of user data, such as user authentication information(e.g., password).

The account manager 134 and a validation manager 136 can validate anactivation of the temporary disposable number, and confirm thevalidation, for example, by generating a call or sending a confirmationmessage 150 to the user at the temporary disposable number. If apermanent phone number is used as the user identifier 111, theactivation manager 134 can generate a call to the permanent phone numberto confirm activation of the temporary disposable number. Theconfirmation message 150 also can include an automated-voicenotification that the activation has been complete.

Alternatively, the confirmation message 150 can be sent to other contactendpoints provided by the user, such as an email address, a fax number,SMS address, or the like. Once the user (e.g., via mobile device 102)receives the confirmation message 150 from the activation manager 134that the service is activated successfully, the application running onthe mobile device 102 can present a summary page or confirmation to theuser indicating such.

Prior to activating a temporary disposable number, the account manager164 assigns the temporary disposable number to the permanent phonenumber associated with the mobile device 102. For example, at the timeof selecting a temporary disposable number, the account manager 164 canrequire the user to identify the permanent phone number associated withthe mobile device 102 (or permanent phone number with any communicationsdevice to which the temporary disposable number is to be linked). Thepermanent phone number then can be used as the user ID 118 c. During theactivation, the account manager 164 forms an association 143 between thetemporary disposable number as selected by the user (e.g., as identifier155) and the permanent phone number on record. The association can bestored in the database 140. When an incoming call to the temporarydisposable number is received, the account manager 164 can query thedatabase 140 and identify the permanent phone number corresponding tothe temporary disposable number being called based on the association143. Once the account manager 164 has identified the association 143,the account manager 164 can then link or forward the call to thecommunications device on which the permanent phone number isestablished.

In some implementations, the permanent phone number is required before atemporary disposable number can be assigned so that a temporarydisposable number can have a permanent phone number associated with it.A permanent phone number can also be associated with multiple temporarydisposable numbers. Once the permanent phone number is submitted, if theuser tries to remove the permanent phone number from the user account142 without adding another permanent phone number, a message can beindicated to the user that removing the permanent phone number on recordcan deactivate the temporary disposable number. The user also can bewarned where the user tries to add a different temporary disposablenumber as a permanent phone number, and doing so can deactivate bothtemporary disposable numbers (e.g., if both were assigned by the TSPsystem 120).

As shown in FIG. 1, the TSP system 120 includes a services manager 120,and the service manager 130 can include one or more of the following: aprovisioning manager 132, a configuration manager 133, the activationmanager 134, the validation manager 136, a billing manager 162, theaccount manager 164, a timer 166, a counter 168, a number manager 170,and a usage manager 172.

The provisioning manager 132 can operate to provide the temporarydisposable number service in association with, for example, a useraccount 142 once the user account 142 has been authenticated andactivated. To provision the temporary disposable number service once arequest has been made, the provisioning manager 132 can authenticate theuser ID 118 c and form an association between a designated permanentphone number and the selected temporary disposable number. Theassociation then allows the account manager 164 to send calls to thetemporary disposable number to be rung on the permanent number.

The configuration manager 133 can be used to assist the user inconfiguring the user account as well as other services provided by theTSP system 120. The configuration manager 133 also can communicate withthe database 140 to ensure that the database 140 stores accurate andup-to-date user data and account information. For example, where theuser has updated its account information, the configuration manager 133can forward the updated information to the database 140 for storage.

As discussed above, the activation manager 134 can be configured toactivate the user account 142 once it has been provisioned withconfiguration data 140 entered by the user. Where the user has selecteda temporary disposable number, the provisioning manager 132 canassociate the user's user ID 118 c with the temporary disposable numberas the identifier 155.

The validation manager 136, in conjunction with the activation manager134, can be used to validate successful provisioning and activation of atemporary disposable number. For example, to validate a temporarydisposable number, the validation manager 136 can be configured to makea call to the permanent number provided by a user (e.g., the numberassociated with the mobile device 102) using the selected temporarydisposable number. In other examples, the validation manager 136 cansend an email message to the email address of the user confirming thatthe temporary disposable number is now active or available to beactivated (or deactivated). The validation manager 136 also can functionto validate a temporary disposable number while the temporary disposablenumber is in use and active.

The billing manager 162 can manage the billing polices attributed toeach temporary disposable number. The billing manager 162 can alsoconfigure the database 140 to store and transmit various billing policesto the billing manager 162 in determining the appropriate fee for each“rental” transaction. For example, the database 140 can store variousbilling polices that include free or for-fee (e.g., fixed or variable)billing policies, billing policies that are based on per-call,per-minute, or per-day schemes, or billing policies that charge the usera higher (or lower) fee for each subsequent temporary disposable numbertaken out beyond a set limit within a predetermined time frame (e.g.,the user is charged a higher fee for each subsequent temporarydisposable number after twenty numbers have been taken out within a30-day period). In sum, the billing policies can establish variouspricing structure by which the user can be billed for using a temporarydisposable number.

Initially, the user can be given, for example, three free temporarydisposable numbers at no charge. When the user requests a fourthtemporary disposable number, the billing manager 162 can determine theappropriate usage fee for the fourth temporary disposable number basedon the existing billing policies.

A promotional deal also can be given to users who purchase a “pack” oftemporary disposable numbers. The user also can be given the flexibilityto extend the shelf life based on a desired increment. For example, thebilling manager 162 can permit the user to extend an active line byvarying increments for an additional charge (e.g., $1 for eachadditional call, $2 for each additional day, etc.). As another example,the user can request the account manager 162 to set a differentexpiration date or time of an active temporary disposable number by aspecific increment, and the billing manager 162 then can charge the useraccordingly.

The billing manager 162 also can provide a billing interface throughwhich the user can enter appropriate billing information, for example,to purchase additional “shuffle” credits for the rights to extend theshelf life of a temporary disposable number currently in use, or therights to use another new temporary disposable number. If desired, theuser can purchase additional “shuffle” credits from outside vendors(e.g., Apple® or Google®) designated by the TSP system 120 as authorizeddealers. In this example, the billing manager 162 then can be configuredto interface with these outside vendors externally to ensure properaccounting and timely update to the user account to reflect thesepurchases and transactions.

As discussed above, the temporary disposable numbers can include one ormore numbers that have a limited shelf life or term. For example, thetemporary disposable number can include one or more numbers with alimited usage (e.g., valid for ten calls), a limited duration (e.g.,valid for three, five, or seven days), or a combination thereof (e.g.,valid for five calls in a single day). The timer 166 can monitor one ormore these timing-related conditions of the temporary disposablenumbers.

During operation, the timer 166 and the number manager 170 can functionto set a time period during which a temporary disposable number isvalid, and a flag in the database 140 indicating that the temporarydisposable number is no longer available for selection by other users,respectively. When the timer 166 determines that the shelf life of thetemporary disposable number has ended, the number manager 170 can resetthe flag (e.g., after an appropriate quarantine period has expired) sothat the temporary disposable number is available for others to select.For example, where the user has requested a temporary disposable numberthat is valid for three days, the timer 166 can track the duration forwhich the temporary disposable number is valid, and notify the numbermanager 170 to deactivate the temporary disposable number or place thetemporary disposable number in quarantine at the end of the three-dayperiod. As another example, the user can set a particular start time(and/or end time) of the temporary disposable number at the time ofactivating the temporary disposable number. The activation manager 134can activate the temporary disposable number at the start time specifiedby the user (or deactivate the temporary disposable number at a desiredend time), and the timer/counter 166 can then begin tracking thevalidity period of the temporary disposable number.

When a temporary disposable number has expired, the number manager 170can place the expired temporary disposable number in a quarantinedatabase 176 (formed as part of or external to the database 140)separate from the number database 174 containing all of the currentlyavailable temporary disposable numbers. The quarantine database 176 canstore a list of all previously-linked temporary disposable numbers, andthe number manager 170 can query the quarantine database 176 when a userrenews one of the temporary disposable numbers previously linked to hisor her account.

The timer 166 also can include a quarantine function (or a separatequarantine timer) to determine a length of time that the expiredtemporary disposable number has been in quarantine. If the timer 166determines that the expired temporary disposable number has been in thequarantine database 176, for example, for more than six months withoutbeing renewed by the previous user, the number manager 170 can releasethe expired temporary disposable number to the general public forselection by placing the temporary disposable number back into thepopulation pool (e.g., into the number database 174).

The usage manager 172 can determine whether a temporary disposablenumber linked to a mobile device has reached its limited usage. If athird-party attempts to reach a subscriber at a temporary disposablenumber with a twenty call limit, but twenty calls to the user at thetemporary disposable number have already been made, the usage manager172 can notify the activation manager 134 to temporarily suspend thetemporary disposable number until the user replenishes the account withsufficient credits.

The usage manager 172 can define the expiration period for the temporarydisposable number in various ways. For example, the usage manager 172can store one or more parameters associated with the expiration of atemporary disposable number in the database 140. For instance, the usagemanager 172 can compile and store in the database 140 a table or othersuitable data structure storing various fields such as the number ofinstances that the temporary disposable number has been used, the numberof incoming calls received at the temporary disposable number, apredefined time period that the temporary disposable number is valideffective (e.g., the number of hours, the number of days, the days ofthe week, and so on), or the area code of the calling party (e.g., wherethe temporary disposable number is only effective for calls made from alocal area code (415) and the like).

If the usage manager 172 determines that an existing temporarydisposable number has expired, the usage manager 172 can notify theaccount manager 164 to reject all future calls, and provide a callfailure notification to all future callers who are trying to reach theuser at the expired temporary disposable number.

As discussed above, the user can purchase “shuffle” credits. Each timean expired temporary disposable number is renewed or a new temporarydisposable number is requested, the counter 168 can be decremented. Forexample, where the user has requested to change a temporary disposablenumber currently in use to a new one that has a different area code(e.g., to avoid roaming charges), the counter 168 can be decremented(e.g., by one) upon activating the new temporary disposable number anddeactivating the old temporary disposable number. When the counter 168reaches zero, indicating that all remaining shuffles have beenexhausted, the counter 168 can communicate with the billing manager 162to prompt the user to purchase credits.

The counter 168 also can provide the function of counting, for example,a number of times the user has renewed a particular temporary disposablenumber, or quantity of temporary disposable numbers used or renewedwithin a specified period. These data can then be relayed to the accountmanager 164 for account management. For example, the account manager 164can use these data to determine whether the user is abusing thetemporary disposable number feature as an attempt to exhaust all of theavailable inventories of new temporary disposable number. As anotherexample, the account manager 164 can use these data to identify whetherthe user should be given a promotional deal or different pricingstructure for the frequent needs of a temporary disposable number. Asyet another example, the account manager 164 can use these data todetermine whether additional, new temporary disposable numbers should beobtained or expired temporary disposable numbers quarantined to ensure ahealthy inventory of available numbers for user selection.

The usage manager 172 can function to validate the usage of eachtemporary disposable number. As discussed above, the account manager 164can allow the user to specify a usage of a temporary disposable number.For example, the user can, at the time of selection and activation (orafter the selection and activation), specify that the temporarydisposable number is to be used only for twenty calls, after which thetemporary disposable number expires. The billing manager 162 also canbill the user based on the specified usage. For example, the user can bebilled $1 for a five-call usage, $2 for a ten-call usage, or $3 for atwenty-call usage.

Once the user specifies a usage need, the usage manager 172 can trackthe usage of the temporary disposable number on an hourly, daily, orweekly basis. Each time a call is received at the temporary disposablenumber, the usage manager 172 also can decrement an internal counter (orthe counter 168) by one. When the usage has reached the allotted limit,the usage manager 172 can prompt the user that the shelf life of thetemporary disposable number has ended, and additional credits will beneeded for the continuous use of the temporary disposable number.

In some implementations, the account manager 164 also can maintain a logassociated with each temporary disposable number. For example, the logcan include, without limitation, (1) the identity of the caller (e.g.,the number from which the incoming call is made, and if the number is inthe user's address book, the name of the caller), (2) the time at whichan incoming call was made, (3) the particular temporary disposablenumber to which a call was made (e.g., where the user has severaltemporary disposable numbers), (4) status of the incoming call (e.g.,whether the incoming call was answered or missed), (5) the duration ofthe incoming call (e.g., total time occurred), and (6) geographicinformation associated with the incoming call (e.g., the city,state/province, and country from which the incoming call was made). Thelog allows the user to track and monitor all inbound and outbound calls,and deactivate any particular temporary disposable numbers where the logshows suspicious calling activities. Also, the log provides a user witha history of all past call events that allows the user to view missedcalls and numbers from which calls are made to the temporary disposablenumber.

Once the user account 142 is activated, the user can proceed to renew anexpired temporary disposable number or request a new temporarydisposable number. In some implementations, the user can start using theselected temporary disposable number nearly instantaneously so thatthird parties can immediately contact the user at the temporarydisposable number without further interruption.

In some implementations, a single submission of data (e.g., user ID 118a) to the TSP system 120 can enable the user to acquire an account touse the temporary disposable number service without any need to provideother personal data (e.g., contracting, billing, configuration, or otherinformation) to activate the selected temporary disposable number. Asdiscussed above, the user can be provided with, for example, threetemporary disposable numbers initially at no charge. The user can beprompted to create an account after all three temporary disposablenumbers have expired.

The term “single submission,” such as single submission of data, canrefer to sending, providing, or transmitting sufficient data to activateor request telecommunications services from an interface withoutrequiring an interface transition to provide additional data to requestthe same telecommunications services. An example single submission ofdata can be clicking a button on a graphical user interface (e.g.,“submit”, “send”, or “activate” buttons, or the like) on a mobiledevice.

The user can create an account using the user interface 110. The userinterface 110 can include physical interfaces and/or virtual interfaces(e.g., a web page, panel, window, display, palette, tab, screen, or thelike in an application program running on the mobile device or the webbrowser). Further, the TSP system 120 can include one or more servers,software applications, application programmable interfaces (APIs), logic(e.g., software or electrical/hardware logic), or any combinationthereof. For example, any of the provisioning manager 132, configurationmanager 133, activation manager 134, validation manager 136, billingmanager 162, account manager 164, timer 166, counter 168, number manager170, and usage manager 172 can be implemented in hardware, software, orany combination thereof.

Example Processes for Instant Activation of a Temporary DisposableNumber

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of an example process 500 for activating atemporary disposable number. For the sake of completeness andthoroughness, FIG. 5 will now be described in conjunction with FIGS.2A/2B and FIGS. 4A/4B. Also, the operations described in process 500 arenot to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in theparticular order discussed or illustrated, unless specificallyidentified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood thatadditional or alternative operations may be employed.

Referring to FIG. 5, the process 500 begins with receiving a userrequest to create a user account (502). For example, the TSP system 120can receive the user request from the mobile device 102. FIG. 2A showsan example application executed on a mobile device that can be used totransmit the user request.

Temporarily referring to FIG. 2A, the “RingCentral” icon 210 representsan application that can be invoked by a user input selecting it with apointing device or touching it on the touch sensitive screen of themobile device 102. The application can be configured to run as a defaultprogram and can be activated whenever the mobile device 102 is firstturned on. If desired, one or more functions of the application can beimplemented as separate modules that each has its respective icon andcan be invoked separately. For example, the activation and configurationfunctions can be implemented as a separate module from thetelephone/voicemail module. Once the application icon 210 is invoked, auser interface can be presented offering a user the option to use orconfigure an existing user account, or to activate and configure a newsubscriber account.

FIG. 2B shows an example user interface 220 for choosing whether to loginto an existing user account or to activate a new user account. To loginto an existing user account, a user can enter a user identifier 230(e.g., user IDs 118 a/118 b), and corresponding authentication passwordin the password field 250.

Optionally, the user can enter a temporary disposable number 240 inplace of or in addition to the identifier 230 to access the useraccount. After completing the identifier and password information in theappropriate fields, the user can proceed to log into the account byselecting the login button 270 on the user interface 220. In someimplementations, the user can set up the application to remember theidentifier and password, and automatically populate the requisite fieldswhen the user invokes the application. An option to create a new accountalso can be presented as a button or a link 260 that invokes a differentuser interface where a user can enter requisite information to createand activate a new account.

In general, when a user runs the application on the mobile device 102,the application generates a user interface on the mobile device 102 forthe user to login as an existing user or to setup a new account. If theuser logs in as an existing user, the application communicates with theTSP system 120 with the request to login and the login information. Theapplication then receives information pertaining to the accountcorresponding to the login information from the TSP system 120, andpresents an interface containing information previously submitted by theuser and other information pre-set by the TSP system 120. The user canproceed to modify the information (such as through edit) or use theservices available to this account.

During the account activation process, the application stores the userinputs until the user is ready to submit the information. Once the userselects to activate the service by clicking on a “submit” or “finalize”button, the application can send the information to the TSP system 120,for example, in a single submission to update the account information orsend the request for services to the TSP system 120. The application cancommunicate with the TSP system 120 during services according to thenormal client-server processes applicable to other forms ofcommunication means (e.g., a web version of a call controller).

Referring back to FIG. 5, at 504, user information including a selectionof a temporary disposable number is requested. If a user selects theoption to create a new account, the application can send a request tothe TSP system 120 (e.g., the account manager 164) to create a newaccount. In response, the TSP system 120 can request the user to provideuser information such as, for example, the mobile phone number of themobile device 102, and personal contact information such as name,address, email, and the like.

Upon receiving the user information, the TSP system 120 can checkwhether there are available temporary disposable numbers in the numberdatabase 174. If so, the TSP system 120 can present to the user a userinterface displaying a pool of available temporary disposable numbersfor user selection. In presenting the pool of available temporarydisposable numbers to the user, the TSP system can cycle through eachnumber to ensure that each available temporary disposable number isdisplayed at least once for selection.

After displaying the listing of available temporary disposable numbers,the user can select a temporary disposable number from the pool. FIG. 4Ashows an example of a temporary disposable number selection interface400 accessible via a browser (e.g., browser 160) in which a pool ofavailable temporary disposable numbers can be displayed to the user.

Optionally, in lieu of or in addition to the number database 174, thepool of available temporary disposable number can be stored in thedatabase 140. The database 140 also can maintain a mapping between atemporary disposable number and the permanent number associated with theuser's mobile device 102 to which the temporary disposable number is tobe linked. The database 140 also can store many such records associatingeach of a plurality of temporary disposable numbers with a respectivepermanent number.

The number manager 170 can provide the user with several categories ofavailable temporary disposable numbers from which one can be selectedfor use. Temporarily referring to FIG. 4A, in some implementations, theuser can be presented with three options each providing a differentgroup or category of available temporary disposable numbers; namely atoll-free number tab 402 listing one or more available temporarydisposable toll-free numbers, a vanity number tab 404 listing one ormore available temporary disposable vanity numbers, and a local numbertab 406 listing one or more available temporary disposable local numbers(e.g., local to the number of the mobile device to which the temporarydisposable number is to be linked). Where a user has selected to view alisting of available toll-free numbers, the user also can be presentedwith additional options 408 for selecting one of several availabletoll-free prefixes. Based on the selected prefix, the user can bepresented with a pool of available temporary disposable toll-freenumbers 410 having the selected prefix.

The number manager 170 can execute a number selection algorithm inpresenting the available pool of temporary disposable numbers (e.g., asopposed to being generated at random). For example, the number manager170 can consider various user-related parameters, and “optimize” thelisting based on these user-related parameters. As an example, thenumber manager 170 can consider (1) the area code of the permanentnumber (e.g., number of the mobile device 102), (2) the last numberlinked to the user (e.g., as retrieved from a log compiled by theaccount manager 164 as discussed above), (3) a current geographiclocation of the user, (4) complexity of the available numbers (e.g.,whether one number is easier to memorize than other available numbers),and (5) past number selection (e.g., adjusting number recommendationbased on past numbers that the user previously selected). The numbermanager 170 also can consider popular numbers or numbers that otherusers have selected frequently, numbers with the least amount of calls,or numbers that are rarely selected as temporary disposable numbers.Based on these user-related parameters and factors, the number manager170 can present, for example, the top three numbers to the user forselection.

On the mobile device 102, the user also can be displayed with atemporary disposable number selection interface similar to that shown inFIG. 4A. FIG. 4B shows an example temporary disposable number interface420 suitable for display on the mobile device 102 and presenting severalavailable temporary disposable numbers to the user. As shown in FIG. 4B,the interface 420 can be displayed to the user upon logging into the TSPsystem 120 (e.g., after authentication using interface 220 shown in FIG.2B), and identifies three temporary disposable numbers from which onecan be selected by the user for use.

Referring back to FIG. 5, at 506, the user information and the selectedtemporary disposable number are received. Before activating the selectedtemporary disposable number, the TSP system 120 can also requestadditional requisite information. For example, the TSP system 120 canrequest the user to specify the shelf life of the selected temporarydisposable number (e.g., 3 days, 5 days, or 7 days), or the number ofcalls for which the selected temporary disposable number is valid (e.g.,valid for twenty calls).

At 508, a user account can be created based on the received userinformation. For example, once the user provides all requisiteinformation, and clicks on an activation button, the application cansend all the information necessary for account creation and activationto the account manager 164. The application can then optionally wait forthe account manager 164 and the activation manager 134 to respond with asuccessful activation confirmation (e.g., confirmation via email, SMS,MMS, and the like). If there are not sufficient temporary disposablenumbers in the database 140, the application can display a message tothe user stating that there is no available number at this time, and askthe user to try later.

At 506, the selected temporary disposable number can be activated. Forexample, the account manager 164 can create the user account, and theactivation manager 134 can activate the selected temporary disposablenumber, and notify the user that the new user account and the selectedtemporary disposable number are both activated and are now ready foruse.

As discussed above, the user can set up a call-forwarding rule at thetime of requesting a temporary disposable number such that calls made tothe temporary disposable number are forwarded to the member's voicemail,or to another number (e.g., home, office, etc.) (e.g., a call made to aselected temporary disposable number is forwarded to the member's homenumber). At the time of selecting a temporary disposable number, theuser also can set up a mailbox to which calls ignored or missed by themember are forwarded (e.g., instead of forwarding to a home or officenumber). If desired, at the time of selecting a temporary disposablenumber, the user also can specify more than one forwarding number to berung sequentially or simultaneously when a caller calls the temporarydisposable number. For example, the user can specify three callforwarding numbers, and each of these three call forwarding numbers canbe rung sequentially based on the orders in which the call forwardingnumbers are listed (e.g., if the user does not pick up the call at thefirst forwarding number, then the TSP system then forwards the call tothe second forwarding number). As another example, a call forwardingsetting can be established to allow each of these three call forwardingnumbers to be rung simultaneously so that devices associated with thesecall forwarding numbers can be simultaneously rung at the time ofreceiving an incoming call at the user's temporary disposable number

Example Processes for Changing an Existing Temporary Disposable Number

Once a temporary disposable number is activated, the user can beginreceiving incoming calls at the temporary disposable number. In someimplementations, the temporary disposable number is only valid forincoming calls and not for outgoing calls (e.g., the user cannot dialout to other parties using the temporary disposable number). Also, wherea user is not available to answer an incoming call at the temporarydisposable number, the TSP system 120 can forward the call to the user'shome number, office number, or to an email voicemail service asspecified by the user at the time of activating the temporary disposablenumber.

As discussed above, each temporary disposable number can be specifiedwith a shelf life. When the shelf life of the temporary disposablenumber expires, the user can purchase additional “credits” to extend theshelf life of the temporary disposable number. The user also can extendthe shelf life of the temporary disposable number prior to itsexpiration.

In some instances, at the end of or during the shelf life of thetemporary disposable number, the user might want to change the temporarydisposable number to a different number. For example, a business ownermight want to change an existing temporary disposable number (e.g., witha local number (415) 123-4567) to a toll free number (e.g., (800)123-4567) so that incoming calls made to the temporary disposable numbercan be charged to the business instead of the caller. As anotherexample, a small business owner with a portable business might want toswitch from a temporary local number (e.g., (212) 123-4567 based in NewYork) to another temporary number with a different area code (e.g.,(415) 123-4567 based in San Francisco) because the small business owneris now promoting the business in San Francisco, and wants all potentialand prospective customers in San Francisco to be able to contact thesmall business owner at a local number. As yet another example, anonline tire seller might want to switch from one temporary disposablenumber local number (e.g., (650) 123-4567) to another temporarydisposable number local number (e.g., (650) 123-TIRE) because the suffixcontains the term “tire,” which is easier for customers to memorize.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of an example process 600 for changing anexisting temporary disposable number. FIG. 6 will now be described inconjunction with FIGS. 4C and 4D. The operations described in process600 are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performancein the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specificallyidentified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood thatadditional or alternative operations may be employed.

At 602, a user account is authenticated based on user information. Forexample, a user logs into an existing user account (e.g., using the userID 118 a/118 b) via a user interface running on the user's mobile device102 (e.g., interface 220 shown in FIG. 2B) or the browser 160, and theprovisioning manager 132 can authenticate the user input to ensure thatthe user is an authorized user with an existing user account.

At 604, a user request to change an existing temporary disposable numberassociated with the user account is received. For example, once the useris authenticated, the user can navigate to, for example, the userinterface 420 shown in FIG. 4B and click on the “Select a differentnumber” button 422 to initiate the process for changing the existingtemporary disposable number (e.g., changing the existing temporarydisposable number “(408) 555-1212” to “(209) 555-1212”). The selectioninterface 420 can visually identify the temporary disposable numbercurrently in use by the user using an indicator 424. Upon clicking onthe “Select a different number” button 422, the user can be presentedwith a switching interface for switching out the existing temporarydisposable number. FIG. 4C shows an example switching interface 430suitable for assisting the user in selecting a new temporary disposablenumbers.

Temporarily referring to FIG. 4C, the switching interface 430 can bepresented to the user where the user wishes to change an area code of anexisting temporary disposable number that is currently in use by theuser. As shown in FIG. 4C, the interface 430 can provide an area codefield 432 in which the user can enter a desired area code. For example,the area code can be a local area code or a toll free prefix (e.g., 888,800, 899, etc.). Upon entering the desired area code in the area codefield 432, the user can select the “Display Numbers” button 434 toretrieve a pool of available temporary disposable numbers having thedesired area code for display in the “Available phone numbers” section436. For example, where the user has entered an area code “209” in thearea code field 432, the number manager 170 can retrieve three newtemporary disposable numbers having the “209” area code (e.g.,“209-555-1212,” “209-555-7865,” and “209-555-6547”) that are availablefor user selection.

Referring back to FIG. 6, at 606, whether a shuffle number associatedwith the user account meets a predetermined threshold is determined(e.g., by the counter 168). For example, when the number manager 170 hasreceived a new number selection from the user, the billing manager 162can check the database 140 to determine whether the current shufflenumber indicates that the user has sufficient credit to fulfill therequest (e.g., to terminate a currently-in-use temporary disposablenumber and activate a new temporary disposable number).

A shuffle interface also can be presented to the user identifying thepermanent number associated with the account (e.g., the mobile device'sphone number), the new temporary disposable number, and the number ofremaining shuffles in the user account. FIG. 4D shows an example shuffleinterface 440 displaying such information. In some implementations, theexample shuffle interface 440 can be displayed to the user once the userhas selected a new temporary disposable number, or in the alternative,after the user has confirmed a change to the new temporary disposablenumber.

Temporarily referring to FIG. 4D, in addition to displaying thepermanent number (e.g., 415-555-9876) and the temporary disposablenumber currently linked to the same permanent number (e.g.,209-555-1212), in some implementations, the shuffle interface 440 alsodisplays an indicator 442 showing the available “shuffles” remaining.Specifically, the indicator 442 can indicate to the user that the usercan again change the temporary disposable number currently in use to adifferent temporary disposable number, for example, three more timesbeyond which additional credits will need to be purchased before theuser can request any further change to the existing temporary disposablenumber.

For example, each time the user changes the area code of an existingtemporary disposable number (e.g., by pressing the “Shuffle” button444), upon user confirmation, the counter 168 is decremented by one. Insome implementations, when the counter 168 shows “zero” shufflesremaining, the user will not be allowed to change the existing temporarydisposable number again. When the term for the existing temporarydisposable number expires, the user will need to purchase additionalcredits before a new temporary disposable number can be provided to theuser, or a previously-linked temporary disposable number can bereinstated and used by the user again.

When the term for the existing temporary disposable number expires, theexpired temporary disposable number can be quarantined in the quarantinedatabase 176 for a predetermined period before it is released to otherusers for selection. This quarantine process allows the expiredtemporary disposable number to be set aside and not commingled or beassociated with other new, never-linked temporary disposable numbers inthe number database 174 while providing the user with an option to renewthe expired temporary disposable number (e.g., within a predeterminedamount of time or in the near future). To ensure a healthy number oftemporary disposable numbers available to other users for selection atall times, the TSP system 120 can specify a time period during which theuser must renew the expired temporary disposable number before the TSPsystem 120 circulates the expired temporary disposable number to otherusers for selection.

The TSP system 120 also can link a temporary disposable number inresponse to a request (e.g., from a user who has subscribed to atemporary disposable number service). For example, the TSP system 120can link a temporary disposable number based on a predetermined scheduleset by the user. As an example, the TSP system 120 can link a newtemporary disposable number to the user's mobile device for use eachday, each week, or any other user-specified time period. As anotherexample, the TSP system 120 can automatically link a new temporarydisposable number to the user when the term of a previously linkedtemporary disposable number has ended (assuming the user has a non-zeroshuffle count in the account). The TSP system 120 also can link atemporary disposable number that is effective only for twenty uses (orany other number of uses as the user or the TSP system 120 specifies).Depending on the pricing structure, the TSP system 120 can tailor theterm for each temporary disposable number accordingly.

For example, a seller might have already received four phone calls at adesignated mobile device in accordance with the temporary disposablenumber that has a term of five calls. After receiving a fifth call atthe temporary disposable number, during or at the completion of thefifth call, the account manager 164 can link a new temporary disposablenumber which can be used to reach the user's mobile device. For example,the new temporary disposable number may be good for another five uses,after which it will expire and yet another new temporary disposablenumber may be linked to the user. In these examples, the user also canrequest in advance that the temporary disposable number automaticallylinked by the TSP system 120 has a particular area code, which may bethe area code in which the user's mobile device is currently located,the user's home area code, or any other area code. This option allows auser to appear to have a presence in an area that the user is nototherwise connected to.

In some implementations, the account manager 164 allows the user tospecify the number of uses that the new temporary disposable number tobe linked should have. Alternatively, or in addition, the accountmanager 164 allows the user to specify the shelf life of the temporarydisposable number linked.

After a temporary disposable number has been linked, the activationmanager 134 can notify the user of the temporary disposable numberlinkage via, for example, a text message, an automated voicemail, a SMSmessage and/or MMS message to the user's mobile device or at thepermanent telephone number, the temporary disposable number, or otherdesired phone number. In this manner, the user can begin to use thetemporary disposable number and provide the temporary disposable numberto third-parties with whom the user wishes to establish two-waycommunications for a certain limited period of time.

If there is sufficient credit in the user account, at 608, the existingtemporary disposable number can be changed (e.g., to a temporarydisposable number having a different area code, or a toll-free number)based on the user request. For example, if the user has requested a newtemporary disposable number and there is credit available for such atransaction, the account manager 164 executes the change; the timer 166sets a start time of the new temporary disposable number (and notify thenumber manager 170 when the shelf life of the new temporary disposablenumber has ended); the counter 168 deducts one credit from the remainingavailable shuffles; and the number manager 170 updates the numberdatabase 174 to remove the new temporary disposable number from futureselection by other users.

A temporary disposable number selection interface (e.g., interfaces4A/4B) also can be presented to the user for selecting a new temporarydisposable number, at which time the user also can specify the desirearea code. If the user does not choose any one of the new temporarydisposable numbers presented in the temporary disposable numberselection interface (e.g., the numbers shown do not fit the user'sneeds), the user can request a different set of temporary disposablenumbers for presentation. Once a selection is made, the account manager164 can store the new temporary disposable number in the database 140.

Similarly, if the user requests to extend the expiration date of anexisting temporary disposable number, where credit is available, thetimer 166 (or the usage manager 172) can reset the validity period forwhich the temporary disposable number is valid (e.g., extend thetemporary disposable number for another five days). Once the timer 166(or the usage manager 172) resets the validity period (or usage), thecounter 168 can deduct a corresponding credit from the user account.

At 610, the shuffle number is modified in response to changing theexisting temporary disposable number to a new temporary disposablenumber. For example, the counter 168 can decrement the user's remainingshuffle number by one to reflect the transaction.

At 612, a message is generated indicating to the user that no credit isavailable in the user account to fulfill the user request. For example,when the counter 168 is zero, the billing manager 162 and the accountmanager 164 can generate a message to the user (e.g., for display on themobile device 102) indicating that the user has no shuffle left in theuser account, and prompt the user to purchase credits. At this time, theuser request can be suspended until the user account 142 is replenishedwith new credits.

At 614, an indication is received (e.g., by the billing manager 162)that the user account has purchased new credits. As discussedpreviously, the billing manager 162 can provide a billing interfacethrough which the user can enter appropriate billing information, forexample, to purchase additional shuffle credits. Once the purchase iscomplete, the billing manager 162 can update the user account (and thedatabase 140) to show the number of shuffles purchased. The user canthen use the new credits to extend the shelf life of an existingtemporary disposable number, or request a new temporary disposablenumber.

Example Processes for Purchasing Credits

In addition to purchasing credits directly from the account manager 164(e.g., by navigating to the account page under the user account), a useralso can purchase credits from outside vendors (e.g., Apple® or Google®)designated by the TSP system 120 as authorized sellers or “dealers.” Thebilling manager 162 then can be configured to interface with theseoutside vendors externally to ensure proper accounting and timely updateof the user account to reflect these purchases and transactions. FIG. 7shows an example process 700 for purchasing credits required to, forexample, extend a shelf life of a temporary disposable number or requesta new temporary disposable number. The operations described in process700 are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performancein the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specificallyidentified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood thatadditional or alternative operations may be employed.

At 702, a user request associated with a user account to purchase one ormore credits is received. For example, the user request can be receivedfrom an account API executed by the application running on the mobiledevice 102. As another example, the user request can be received from athird party vendor with whom the user also has an existing account. Theuser request also can specify a number of credits to be purchased.

When the billing manager 162 has received the user request orinformation identifying the user request (e.g., from a third partyvendor), at 704, the billing manager 162 can retrieve the accountinformation associated with the user account and proceed to complete thetransaction with the user directly. Where the user has purchased creditsfrom an outside vendor or seller, the transaction information can berelayed to the billing manager 134.

At 704, the account information associated with the user account ismodified. For example, where the user has purchased three temporarydisposable numbers (either directly with the billing manager 162 or froma third-party seller), the billing manager 162 can modify the user'saccount information to reflect these additional three temporarydisposable numbers, and the counter 168 can be updated to show threeshuffles remaining in the account.

In lieu of purchasing credits, other forms of payment can be used, suchas a credit for the user viewing certain content (such as displayingmobile ads to the callers (and/or to the user)). Where landlines areused, radio ads also can be utilized. For example, the user can createan account with a designated Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) system,and listen to an audio ad provided by the IVR system. When the audio adis completed, the IVR system can communicate with the billing manager162, at which time the user will be properly credited.

As another example, the user can opt in (either with the TSP system 120or a third-party with whom the TSP system 120 communicates) to listen toradio ads (e.g., the user can specify with the account manager 164 thata radio ad be played before or after a call is made to the temporarydisposable number, after which the account manager 164 can credit theuser account 142 for listening to the radio ad). In this example, theTSP system 120 can extract one or more ads locally stored (e.g., asreceived from an ad publisher), and play the ad either in advance ofreceiving any call at the temporary disposable number, or at the timethe call is received at the temporary disposable number.

As yet another example, the number manager 170 can control which ads areto be played, at which number, with what frequency, and/or by which userarea code. For temporary disposable numbers that have been shuffled ordeleted, the number manager 170 also can display an ad to all callerspromoting, for example, the temporary disposable number feature. In thisexample, because inactive numbers (or deleted numbers) are placed in thequarantine database 176, when a call is made to an inactive number, anaudio recording can be played notifying the caller that the number isnot currently in service, and encouraging the caller to visit thewebsite hosted by the TSP 120 to learn more about the status of theinactive number as well as the ways in which to get in contact with theuser (e.g., where the user has a different temporary disposable number).The number manager 162 also can provide credit as part of daily deals(e.g., deals from Groupon® or LivingSocial®) based on where the user orthe callers are located in recommending an appropriate offer.

The user also can create a personal message or greeting fordisplay/presentation to all callers when calls are made to the user'stemporary disposable number(s). For example, the user can create apersonal message (e.g., as provided by the account manager 164) statingthat “If you're calling about the tickets sales, you must be able topick them up by 3:30 pm today.” The personal message can be stored inthe database 140 as part of the configuration data 140 associated withthe user account 142. When a call is made to the temporary disposablenumber, the TSP 120 can retrieve the personal message from the database140, and play the personal message to the caller. When the temporarydisposable number is deleted or shuffled back into the quarantinedatabase 172, the number manager 170 also can automatically delete theuser's message or personal greeting, and tie new a new message to thedeleted temporary disposable number that is to be shown when the deletedtemporary disposable number has been linked to another user.

As discussed above, content can be played to the callers (or the userwhen accessing the IVR system). In these examples, the TSP 120 canmonitor content stored in the database 140, and identify a suitablecontent item to be played to the user or caller based on one or morefactors (e.g., to ensure that a content item is played a minimum ormaximum number of times). For example, the TSP 120 can consider howfrequently a content item has been played, the hour, day, week and/ormonth played, or the type of temporary disposable number that is called(e.g., whether it is for business or personal). Other demographicfactors also can be used in serving the most appropriate content to theuser or caller.

As discussed above, in some implementations, the temporary disposablenumbers are configured to receive incoming calls only (e.g., userscannot use the temporary disposable numbers for dialing out or callingother parties). In some implementations, the activation manager 164 canprovide the user with an option to convert an existing temporarydisposable number into a permanent temporary disposable number. Once theconversion has been made, the TSP 120 can reconfigure the user account142 so that the user can start receiving incoming calls and makingoutgoing calls and not be restricted to receiving only inbound calls. Insome implementations, the user also can request the account manager 164to allow the user to make outgoing calls to outside parties. The accountmanager 164 can activate the outgoing line of the temporary disposablenumber, and the billing manager 162 can charge the user, for example, ata different billing rate for the additional use of the outgoing line.

An Example Mobile Device

As discussed above, a user can be provided a user interface on themobile device 102 for activating a temporary disposable number, creatinga user account, changing an existing temporary disposable number, orpurchasing credits. FIG. 3 is a block diagram 300 of an exampleimplementation of the mobile device 102. The mobile device can include amemory interface 302, one or more data processors, image processorsand/or central processing units 304, and a peripherals interface 306.The memory interface 302, the one or more processors 304 and/or theperipherals interface 306 can be separate components or can beintegrated in one or more integrated circuits. The various components inthe mobile device can be coupled by one or more communication buses orsignal lines.

Sensors, devices, and subsystems can be coupled to the peripheralsinterface 306 to facilitate multiple functionalities. For example, amotion sensor 310, a light sensor 312, and a proximity sensor 314 can becoupled to the peripherals interface 306 to facilitate the orientation,lighting, and proximity functions. Other sensors 316 can also beconnected to the peripherals interface 306, such as a positioning system(e.g., GPS receiver), a temperature sensor, a biometric sensor, or othersensing device, to facilitate related functionalities.

A camera subsystem 320 and an optical sensor 322, e.g., a chargedcoupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)optical sensor, can be utilized to facilitate camera functions, such asrecording photographs and video clips.

Communication functions can be facilitated through one or more wirelesscommunication subsystems 324, which can include radio frequencyreceivers and transmitters and/or optical (e.g., infrared) receivers andtransmitters. The specific design and implementation of thecommunication subsystem 324 can depend on the communication network(s)over which the mobile device is intended to operate. For example, amobile device can include communication subsystems 324 designed tooperate over a GSM network, a GPRS network, an EDGE network, a Wi-Fi orWiMax network, and a Bluetooth™ network. In particular, the wirelesscommunication subsystems 324 may include hosting protocols such that themobile device may be configured as a base station for other wirelessdevices.

An audio subsystem 326 can be coupled to a speaker 328 and a microphone330 to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition,voice replication, digital recording, and telephony functions.

The I/O subsystem 340 can include a touch screen controller 342 and/orother input controller(s) 344. The touch-screen controller 342 can becoupled to a touch screen 346. The touch screen 346 and touch screencontroller 342 can, for example, detect contact and movement or breakthereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies,including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, andsurface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensorarrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contactwith the touch screen 346.

The other input controller(s) 344 can be coupled to other input/controldevices 348, such as one or more buttons, rocker switches, thumb-wheel,infrared port, USB port, and/or a pointer device such as a stylus. Theone or more buttons (not shown) can include an up/down button for volumecontrol of the speaker 328 and/or the microphone 330.

In one implementation, a pressing of the button for a first duration maydisengage a lock of the touch screen 346; and a pressing of the buttonfor a second duration that is longer than the first duration may turnpower to the mobile device on or off. The user may be able to customizea functionality of one or more of the buttons. The touch screen 346 can,for example, also be used to implement virtual or soft buttons and/or akeyboard.

The memory interface 302 can be coupled to memory 350. The memory 350can include high-speed random access memory and/or non-volatile memory,such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more opticalstorage devices, and/or flash memory (e.g., NAND, NOR). The memory 350can store an operating system 352, such as Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OSX, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks. Theoperating system 352 may include instructions for handling basic systemservices and for performing hardware dependent tasks. In someimplementations, the operating system 352 can be a kernel (e.g., UNIXkernel).

The memory 350 may also store communication instructions 354 tofacilitate communicating with one or more additional devices, one ormore computers and/or one or more servers. The memory 350 may includegraphical user interface instructions 356 to facilitate graphic userinterface processing; sensor processing instructions 358 to facilitatesensor-related processing and functions; phone instructions 360 tofacilitate phone-related processes and functions; electronic messaginginstructions 362 to facilitate electronic-messaging related processesand functions; web browsing instructions 364 to facilitate webbrowsing-related processes and functions; media processing instructions366 to facilitate media processing-related processes and functions;GPS/Navigation instructions 368 to facilitate GPS and navigation-relatedprocesses and instructions; camera instructions 370 to facilitatecamera-related processes and functions; and/or other softwareinstructions 372 to facilitate other processes and functions, e.g.,various functions of the virtual PBX services application.

The memory 350 may also store other software instructions (not shown),such as web video instructions to facilitate web video-related processesand functions; and/or web shopping instructions to facilitate webshopping-related processes and functions. In some implementations, themedia processing instructions 366 are divided into audio processinginstructions and video processing instructions to facilitate audioprocessing-related processes and functions and video processing-relatedprocesses and functions, respectively. An activation record andInternational Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) 374 or similar hardwareidentifier can also be stored in memory 350.

Example Computer System

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of generic processing device that may be usedto execute methods and processes disclosed herein. The system 800 may beused for the operations described in association with the method 300according to one implementation. The system 800 may also be used for theoperations described in association with the method 400 according toanother implementation.

The system 800 includes a processor 810, a memory 820, a storage device830, and an input/output device 840. Each of the components 810, 820,830, and 840 are interconnected using a system bus 850. The processor810 is capable of processing instructions for execution within thesystem 800. In one implementation, the processor 810 is asingle-threaded processor. In another implementation, the processor 810is a multi-threaded processor. The processor 810 is capable ofprocessing instructions stored in the memory 820 or on the storagedevice 830 to display graphical information for a user interface on theinput/output device 840.

The memory 820 stores information within the system 800. In someimplementations, the memory 820 is a computer-readable medium. In someimplementations, the memory 820 is a volatile memory unit. In otherimplementations, the memory 820 is a non-volatile memory unit.

The storage device 830 is capable of providing mass storage for thesystem 800. In one implementation, the storage device 830 is acomputer-readable medium. In various different implementations, thestorage device 830 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, or a tape device.

The input/output device 840 provides input/output operations for thesystem 800. In one implementation, the input/output device 840 includesa keyboard and/or pointing device. In another implementation, theinput/output device 840 includes a display unit for displaying graphicaluser interfaces.

A few implementations have been described in detail above, and variousmodifications are possible. The disclosed subject matter, including thefunctional operations described in this specification, can beimplemented in electronic circuitry, computer hardware, firmware,software, or in combinations of them, such as the structural meansdisclosed in this specification and structural equivalents thereof,including potentially a program operable to cause one or more dataprocessing apparatus to perform the operations described (such as aprogram encoded in a computer-readable medium, which can be a memorydevice, a storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, or otherphysical, machine-readable medium, or a combination of one or more ofthem).

The features described may be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or incombinations of them. In some implementations, the apparatus may beimplemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied in aninformation carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device, forexecution by a programmable processor; and method steps may be performedby a programmable processor executing a program of instructions toperform functions of the described implementations by operating on inputdata and generating output. In other implementations, the apparatus maybe implemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied in aninformation carrier for execution by a programmable processor. In someimplementations, the information carrier can include a propagatedsignal.

The described features may be implemented advantageously in one or morecomputer programs that are executable on a programmable system includingat least one programmable processor coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a datastorage system, at least one input device, and at least one outputdevice. A computer program is a set of instructions that may be used,directly or indirectly, in a computer to perform a certain activity orbring about a certain result. A computer program may be written in anyform of programming language, including compiled or interpretedlanguages, and it may be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructionsinclude, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors, and the sole processor or one of multiple processors ofany kind of computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructionsand data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. Theessential elements of a computer are a processor for executinginstructions and one or more memories for storing instructions and data.Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled tocommunicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing datafiles; such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disksand removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and optical disks. Storagedevices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructionsand data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in,ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

To provide for interaction with a user, the features may be implementedon a computer having a display device such as a CRT (cathode ray tube)or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor for displaying information tothe user and a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse or atrackball by which the user may provide input to the computer.

The features may be implemented in a computer system that includes aback-end component, such as a data server, or that includes a middlewarecomponent, such as an application server or an Internet server, or thatincludes a front-end component, such as a client computer having agraphical user interface or an Internet browser, or any combination ofthem. The components of the system may be connected by any form ormedium of digital data communication such as a communication network.Examples of communication networks include, e.g., a LAN, a WAN, and thecomputers and networks forming the Internet.

The term “system” encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machines forprocessing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, acomputer, or multiple processors or computers. The system can include,in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment forthe computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processorfirmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operatingsystem, or a combination of one or more of them.

A program (also known as a computer program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, or declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment. A program does notnecessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can bestored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g.,one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a singlefile dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinatedfiles (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, orportions of code). A program can be deployed to be executed on onecomputer or on multiple computers that are located at one site ordistributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communicationnetwork.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but ratheras descriptions of features that may be specific to particularimplementations. Certain features that are described in thisspecification in the context of separate implementations can also beimplemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely,various features that are described in the context of a singleimplementation can also be implemented in multiple implementationsseparately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, althoughfeatures may be described above as acting in certain combinations andeven initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimedcombination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and theclaimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation ofa subcombination.

In addition, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In addition, other steps may be provided, or steps may beeliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be addedto, or removed from, the described systems. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the implementations described above should not beunderstood as requiring such separation in all implementations.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a computingdevice, a user request for a temporary disposable identifier, the userrequest including a permanent identifier assigned to a communicationsdevice, wherein the communications device is configured to receiveinbound calls and send outbound calls associated with the permanentcontact identifier on a substantially permanent basis; identifying, by acomputing device, a listing of temporary disposable identifiersavailable for user selection; displaying, by a computing device, thelisting in response to the user request; receiving, by a computingdevice, a user selection selecting a temporary disposable identifierfrom the listing; activating, by a computing device, the selectedtemporary disposable identifier based on the permanent identifier, theactivated temporary disposable identifier being used to receive incomingcalls directed to the temporary disposable identifier and forward theincoming calls to the communications device; determining an activationperiod when the selected temporary disposable identifier is associatedwith the permanent identifier; identifying a termination eventterminating the association between the selected temporary disposableidentifier and the permanent identifier; determining a quarantine periodin proportion to the activation period; and after the termination event,reserving the temporary disposable identifier for re-association withthe permanent identifier for the quarantine period.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the permanent identifier comprises a permanent phonenumber for the communications device and the disposable identifiercomprises a temporary phone number for forwarding phone calls to thecommunications device.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprisinghiding the permanent phone number from at least some of the callersusing the temporary phone number to call the communications device. 4.The method of claim 3, further comprising: receiving an incoming calldirected to the temporary phone number; identifying the permanent phonenumber associated with the temporary phone number; and forwarding theincoming call to the communications device associated with the permanentphone number.
 5. The method of claim 1, where receiving the userselection includes receiving information associated with a desired shelflife during which the selected temporary disposable identifier is valid.6. The method of claim 5, further comprising deactivating the selectedtemporary disposable identifier when the desired shelf life has expired.7. The method of claim 6, where receiving information associated withthe desired shelf life includes receiving information specifying alimited usage of the selected temporary disposable identifier, thelimited usage being specified on a per-call basis.
 8. The method ofclaim 6, where receiving information associated with the desired shelflife includes receiving information specifying a limited duration of theselected temporary disposable identifier, the limited duration beingspecified on a per-day basis.
 9. The method of claim 6, whereidentifying the listing includes identifying the listing of temporarydisposable identifiers available for user selection from a firstdatabase, the method further comprising: storing the deactivatedtemporary disposable identifier in a second database different from thefirst database.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:transferring the deactivated temporary disposable identifier from thesecond database to the first database after a predetermined period, thepredetermined period defined as a period during which the deactivatedtemporary disposable identifier is not available for public selection.11. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether creditis available in a user account associated with the user request, whereactivating the selected temporary disposable identifier is performedonly when it is determined that the credit is available.
 12. The methodof claim 11, further comprising denying the user request if it isdetermined that the user account does not have sufficient credit tofulfill the user request.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining whether a total number of temporary disposable identifierspreviously linked to a user account associated with the user request hasexceeded a predetermined threshold, where activating the selectedtemporary disposable identifier is performed only when the total numberof temporary disposable identifiers previously linked to the useraccount has not exceeded the predetermined threshold.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, where receiving the user request includes receiving a userrequest to obtain a new temporary disposable identifier, the methodfurther comprising: removing the selected temporary disposableidentifier from a database storing other temporary disposableidentifiers available for user selection.
 15. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a deactivation request to deactivate theactivated temporary disposable identifier; and deactivating theactivated temporary disposable identifier including: storing thedeactivated temporary disposable identifier in a quarantine databasesuch that the deactivated temporary disposable identifier is unavailablefor user selection during the quarantine period.
 16. A methodcomprising: receiving, by a computing device, a request for using atemporary disposable identifier in association with a permanentidentifier, wherein the permanent identifier comprises a first phonenumber for initiating outgoing phone calls and receiving incoming phonecalls and the temporary disposable identifier comprises a second phonenumber; receiving, by the computing device, an incoming call directed tothe second phone number; anonymously forwarding, by the computingdevice, the incoming call to the first phone number; receiving, by thecomputing device, a user request to extend a shelf life of the temporarydisposable identifier; identifying, by the computing device, a useraccount associated with the user request; determining, by the computingdevice, whether the user account meets one or more criteria; extending,by the computing device, the shelf life of the temporary disposableidentifier if the user account meets the one or more criteria;terminating the association between the temporary disposable identifierand the permanent identifier in response to expiration of the self life;and reserving the temporary disposable identifier for re-associationwith the permanent identifier for a quarantine period proportional tothe shelf life.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising denyingthe user request if the user account does not meet the one or morecriteria.
 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising retrievingaccount information from a third party with whom credits associated withthe user account have been purchased.
 19. The method of claim 18, where:determining whether the user account meets one or more criteria includesdetermining whether the credits purchased from the third party aresufficient to fulfill the user request; and extending the shelf lifeonly when sufficient credits are available.
 20. The method of claim 16,where determining whether the user account meets one or more criteriaincludes determining whether a total number of temporary disposableidentifiers previously linked to the user account has exceeded apredetermined threshold.
 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:receiving a user request to receive one or more advertisements at thetemporary disposable identifier; and crediting the user account afterthe one or more advertisements are presented at the temporary disposableidentifier.
 22. A method comprising: providing, by a computing device,user information including a permanent identifier associated with acommunications device, wherein the communications device receivesincoming calls directed to the permanent identifier; receiving, by thecomputing device, a listing of temporary disposable identifiers inresponse to the user information, wherein the disposable identifiers arenot currently associated with communications devices; selecting, by thecomputing device, multiple temporary disposable identifiers from thelisting; associating, by the computing device, the multiple temporarydisposable identifiers with the permanent identifier; receiving by thecomputing device, incoming calls directed to the multiple temporarydisposable identifiers; forwarding, by the computing device, theincoming calls to the communications device associated with thepermanent identifier; identifying, by the computing device, atermination event based on the number of multiple temporary disposableidentifiers associated with the permanent identifier; and terminating,by the computing device, the association of the multiple temporarydisposable identifiers with the permanent identifier in response toidentifying the termination event.
 23. A method comprising: receiving,by a computing device, a user request for a temporary disposableidentifier; retrieving, by the computing device, a user accountassociated with the user request including determining whether there iscredit in the user account to fulfill the user request; displaying, bythe computing device, a listing of temporary disposable identifiers inresponse to the user request; receiving, by the computing device, a userselection selecting one of the temporary disposable identifiers from thelisting; reducing, by the computing device, the credit in response toreceiving the user selection; activating, by the computing device, theselected temporary disposable identifier if the credit in the useraccount is above a threshold value, the activated temporary disposableidentifier being used to receive incoming calls; receiving additionaluser selections swapping the selected one of the temporary disposableidentifiers with other ones of the temporary disposable identifiers fromthe listing; reducing, by the computing device, the credit based on anumber of the additional user selections; and activating, by thecomputing device, the other ones of the temporary disposable identifiersif the credit in the user account is above the threshold value.
 24. Themethod of claim 23, further comprising: suspending the user request fora temporary disposable identifier or the additional user selections ifthe credit in the user account drops below the threshold value includinggenerating a user notification indicating that additional credits areneeded to complete the user request.
 25. The method of claim 24, furthercomprising: receiving an indication that new credits have been purchasedand credited to the user account; and activating, in response to theindication, the selected temporary disposable identifier or the otherones of the temporary disposable identifiers.
 26. A system comprising:an account manager configured to receive a permanent identifierassociated with a communications device and a selection of one of aplurality of temporary disposable identifiers, wherein the permanentidentifier comprises a permanent telephone number assigned to thecommunications device for sending and receiving phone calls and theselected temporary disposable phone number is temporarily assigned tothe communications device for at least temporarily and anonymouslyreceiving phone calls; a database configured to store the plurality oftemporary disposable identifiers and an association between thepermanent identifier and the selected temporary disposable identifier;and an activation manager configured to: activate the selected temporarydisposable identifier such that incoming calls made to the selectedtemporary disposable identifier are forwarded to the communicationsdevice on which the permanent identifier is established; determine anactivation period when the selected temporary disposable identifier isassociated with the permanent identifier; identify a termination eventterminating the association between the selected temporary disposableidentifier and the permanent identifier; determine a quarantine periodin proportion to the activation period; and after the termination event,reserve the temporary disposable identifier for re-association with thepermanent identifier for the quarantine period.